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Slap Bet
If you are looking for the bet featuring in this episode, see The Eight Slaps. Recap Ted, Marshall, Lily, and Barney find out that Robin does not want to go to a mall, and Robin doesn't want anyone to know why she's averse to malls. Ted tries to guess and in doing so reveals that he was trapped under a fake boulder at a mall in Ohio when he was nine. Marshall believes that Robin was married in a mall in Canada, while Barney believes that Robin did pornography in Canada. They agree to a slap bet (where the winner of the bet slaps the loser as hard as he possibly can) and appoint Lily as the slap bet commissioner. Ted thinks both ideas are ridiculous, but tries to find out if she had gotten married at a mall. Robin tells Ted that she did get married to a guy in a mall. Ted promises to keep it a secret, but then tells Marshall and Lily. Seeing as he's won, Marshall slaps Barney, but Barney still investigates the subject. Shortly after that, Marshall tells Ted that Robin was never married. Ted, after asking Robin a bunch of questions, gets her to tell him that she lied to get him to stop talking about it. Marshall also tells Lily of how Robin was never married. Lily informs Barney and allows him to slap Marshall three times. Barney then reveals that a man in Malaysia has found a video with Robin in it, and it will be posted on MySpace shortly. He refers to her as "Robin Sparkles", to which she is shocked and questions him as to where he heard that name. Ted is no longer interested in finding out Robin's secret, but Robin later insists that it is time for the secret to be revealed. Barney plays the opening part of the video, in which Robin (dressed as a schoolgirl) seductively pleads a teacher not to give her detention. Barney, for the sake of Robin's dignity, pauses the video and says that he has proved his point, and then slaps Marshall. Robin asks Barney why he slapped Marshall, and Barney tells her about the bet and that he thought that Robin had done porn earlier in her life. Robin plays the video, saying it was not porn. It turns out to be a stereotypically 80's music video where a young Robin (referred to as Robin Sparkles) sings "Let's Go To The Mall", Robin's minor hit in Canada as a teenage pop star. Marshall points out to Barney that he did not win the slap bet. Lily then gives Marshall the right to slap Barney either ten times immediately in succession or five times available to Marshall for all of eternity, pending Barney's preference. Barney chooses the five slaps, which Ted refers to as a "horrible call", because Barney must now live in constant fear of being slapped. Robin tells Ted that she is actually glad Ted knows her secret now. They kiss and Marshall slaps Barney, proclaiming, "That's one". They all continue to enjoy the video, and Marshall menaces Barney. Continuity *Marshall wins his and Barney's Slap Bet, and is allowed to slap him five times "from now to eternity". The first slap occurs here, the second in , the third in , and the fourth in . In , he gets three more slaps and uses two immediately, leaving him with two more, and at the end of , he raises his hand to deliver the seventh slap. *Robin's career as Robin Sparkles is referred to throughout the rest of the series, most notably in , , and . *In , Robin reveals that she became Robin Sparkles after moving in with her mother, which she in turn did after her father (who wanted a son) walked in on her kissing her male hockey teammate and could no longer ignore her femininity. *In , Ted and Marshall also make a slap bet. *The song "Let's Go to the Mall", first introduced here, is sung by Marshall at the Hoser Hut in , and is Ted's ringtone in . *The look that Robin gave in the music video is the look that Ted mentioned in ("Oh, and your biting your lower lip, shyly looking away and thrusting your chest out is natural?"). *Robin mentions that Derek was the last person she slept with before Ted. She broke up with him in , and wasn't seen dating anyone (aside from one date with Sandy Rivers in ) before getting together with Ted in . Gallery Memorable Quotes (Ted and Robin lie in bed together) Ted: So, what's the deal with you and malls? Robin: You said if I didn't want to talk about it, I didn't have to. Ted: Yeah, with those people. I'm your boyfriend. Come on, what is it? Did you get arrested in a mall? Robin: No. Ted: Dumped in a mall? Robin: Ted. Ted: Found out you were Canadian at a mall? Robin: Let it go. Ted: Trapped under a fake boulder at the mall? Robin: Let it go. Ted: Mauled at the mall? Robin: Let it go. And who gets trapped under a fake boulder at the mall? Ted: Not me in Ohio when I was nine, that's for sure. ---- Ted: In order for me to get total closure on this whole my-girlfriend-has-a-husband thing, I think I'm gonna need a little bit more information. Like, what month did you get married? Robin: June. We had a June wedding. Ted: Ah, Canada in June. That's great. Ted: Sit down or buffet. Robin: Um... Ted: Whoa. It's weird that you don't remember. Robin: No, I just didn't know how to answer because we did butlered hors deouvres in the atrium, but the actual dinner was a buffet in the food court featuring a filet mignon or roasted potato-crusted salmon with a lobster scallion ber blanc. Ted: Hm. Band of DJ? Robin: String quartet played at the ceremony, but for the actual reception we had a seven-piece band. We paid extra for the sax 'cause I just love that smooth alto sound. Ted: How many bridesmaids? Robin: Seven. Ted: Flowers? Robin: Azaleas. Ted: Color scheme? Robin: Dusty rose and sienna. Ted: Husband's name? Robin: Um. Ted: You were never married. Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *During the final scene while the gang is viewing the "Let's Go to the Mall" video, Marshall's soda is shown sitting next to the computer screen, but in the next shot it's gone. Allusions and Outside References *Robin mentions that her friend's wedding cake was a Mrs. Fields cookie. *Robin said when she performed in malls all over Canada in the early 1990 to mid-1990s, she was forced to live off Orange Juliuses and Wetzel's Pretzels. *Robin's song includes a reference to Canada Day, the national day of Canada, and a (fake) cameo by then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. (Putting the recording of the song before June 1993) Music *''Let's Go To The Mall'' - Robin Sparkles (Robin Scherbatsky's artistic name while she was a pop star) Other Notes *This episode was going to be called "Robin Sparkles", but then it was renamed "Slap Bet" to not give away the ending. In later reruns, it is sometime called "Robin Sparkles" in the guide on . *The menu that Robin makes up when Ted questions her about her wedding was the actual menu at the wedding of writer Kourtney Kang, which took place two weeks prior to the writing of this episode. Guests *Courtney Abbiati - Girl #3 ("I just turned 30") * - Girl #1 ("It's a promise ring...") *Wayne Nickel - Reverend Rob * - Sara ("I don't have an eating disorder...") * - Mr. Johnson (uncredited) Reception Miss Alli of rated the episode with a grade A. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/slap_bet.php Staci Krause of gave the episode 8.9 out of 10. http://tv.ign.com/articles/783/783100p1.html Joyce Eng of later called the episode "possibly the show's finest half-hour" and said, "nothing will ever be or beat Slap Bet. http://www.tvguide.com/News/HIMYM-Robin-Sparkles-1025649.aspx References External Links * * * Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Robin Sparkles Category:Slap bet episodes